[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO AL ZAMPA, BUILDER OF BRIDGES--OVER WATER AND 
                        THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my 
colleagues to join me in wishing a very happy birthday to Mr. Al Zampa 
of Crockett, California, who will be 93 years old on March 12.
  Al Zampa is a truly remarkable man who has left his mark on his 
community in more ways than one. As an ironworker from 1927 through 
1970, Al personally contributed to one of the San Francisco Bay Area's 
most distinctive characteristics, its bridges. Starting with 
construction of the Carquinez Bridge in Crockett, Al's career included 
work on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge, the San Mateo Bridge, the 
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the Benicia Bridge and, of course, the 
Golden Gate. In the autumn of 1936, Al became a member of the ``Half-
Way-to Hell Club'' when he fell from the Golden Gate Bridge and lived 
to tell about it. Many of his friends and colleagues believed that that 
fall would end his career as an ironworker and a builder of bridges, 
but the day he was released from the hospital he returned to the Gate 
to climb the bridge that had nearly killed him.
  But Al Zampa contributed to more than just our community's 
infrastructure, he also helped to shape a generation of its residents. 
Al was a major force in the creation of the Tri-City Baseball League, 
making positive recreational opportunities available to hundreds of 
youth. As the League's Vice President and a team coach for six years, 
Al helped shape the lives of many of our young people, and this is 
perhaps his most lasting tribute.
  Again, I invite my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life of 
an incredible citizen, and wishing Al Zampa a happy and healthy 93rd 
birthday.

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